“I was honestly like, ‘Damn, maybe I hit my peak and I don’t know how to write anymore?’” Billie admitted.
Billie Eilish was just 13 years old when she released one of her most successful songs to date, “Ocean Eyes.”
Young Hollywood / Getty ImagesAnd Billie’s huge stardom has only continued to grow over the years, with the artist, now 21, collecting several prominent awards — like Grammys and an Oscar — for her work.
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for the Recording AcademySo it’s perhaps unsurprising to some that after being thrust into the spotlight virtually overnight and spending years penning such successful songs, Billie recently wound up experiencing a period of feeling burned out when it came to making new music.
Max Mumby / Getty ImagesSitting down with Zane Lowe in July for a candid conversation, Billie revealed that she and Finneas grew “incredibly uninspired” and felt as though they’d “lost” their songwriting magic earlier this year.
Steve Granitz / FilmMagicADVERTISEMENT“We were really in a zone of feeling like we lost it and feeling like, ‘Man, I don’t know if we can do this anymore,’” she said. “I was 15 years old, 16, 17, and he’s a teenager; you can imagine my thoughts of doubt. Like, Oh, I can’t do this anymore.”
Timothy Hiatt / WireImageBut Billie went on to reveal that things changed for her massively once she was asked to feature on the soundtrack of Barbie, which was released this summer. With Finneas, Billie wrote the song “What Was I Made For?,” which she admitted was the “first thing” they’d managed to write together in a while.
Albert L. Ortega / Getty ImagesTNow opening up further about this period of feeling uninspired, Billie admitted that she was actually “concerned” that her career was “over” before the release of her Barbie hit.
Karwai Tang / WireImageThis week, Billie took part in the Hollywood Reporter’s songwriter roundtable, which also featured artists Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Jon Batiste, Cynthia Erivo, and Julia Michaels.Instagram: @billieeilishADVERTISEMENTSpeaking candidly about feeling uninspired, Billie told her industry peers, “I honestly was concerned that it was over for me. I’ve got to be honest with you.”Instagram: @billieeilishShe admitted, “We’d been trying, and it wasn’t doing what it usually would do in me. I was honestly like, ‘Damn, maybe I hit my peak and I don’t know how to write anymore?’”
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for the Recording AcademyBillie went on to say that Barbie director Greta Gerwig “saved” her when she FaceTimed her and asked her to feature on the film’s renowned soundtrack.
Eric Charbonneau / Getty Images for Warner Bros.“I thank God for Greta, man,” she said. “She saved me, really, honestly.”
Joe Maher / Getty Images for BFIBillie added, “It brought us out of it, and immediately we were inspired and wrote so much more after that.”
